If HORSEBACK’s records seem heavy – as in, heavier even than most of their droning metal contemporaries – there is a reason for that. Jenks Miller, the sole member of HORSEBACK, finds inspiration from the heaviest subject matter of them all: the apocalypse. Shaking, buzzing, and constantly moving, HORSEBACK’s music tends to exist in its own strange world, where the distorted swagger of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse sits at a table next to the haunted dronescapes of Sunn O))). As Pitchfork Media describes it, the band’s sound encompasses “metal ugliness and heartland beauty, post-rock at its most spartan and hard rock at its most out-there.” The Chapel Hill-based Jenks Miller has almost single-handedly created the grim, swirling cacophony (with the occasional help of a studio drummer) that has come to define HORSEBACK’s studio recordings since the 2007 release of the debut album Impale Golden Horn on Burly Time (later to be reissued by Relapse).

Since 2007, HORSEBACK’s discography and renown have expanded significantly. 2009’s epic The Invisible Mountain (Utech Records) and 2010’s cassette-only Forbidden Planet (Brave Mysteries) were both re-released upon the band’s signing to Relapse Records, in addition to the numerous splits HORSEBACK has released with artists such as Pyramids, Locrian, and Voltigeurs. Half Blood, released in late spring 2012, marked something of a critical breakthrough for HORSEBACK – NPR called the record “a celebration of light through darkness,” and brought the band’s slithering howl to its largest audience yet. Since the release of Half Blood, the band has also produced a 3CD compilation of rarities (via Relapse), multiple splits and EPs, and two highly-acclaimed new full-lengths (Three Lobed Recordings).

HORSEBACK’s live appearances, although rare, have also been highly acclaimed; an enormous, full-band embodiment of the singular sequestered HORSEBACK sound from the recordings. Though dormant on the live circuit since 2011, HORSEBACK has appeared at renowned events including Utech Records Music Festival, Boomslang Festival, and Hopscotch Music Festival and has performed with acts as diverse as The Atlas Moth, Hull, and Noveller. Most significantly, HORSEBACK is the rare band whose music becomes a journey in and of itself; each album is a living thing, growing and shifting with every listen. Dead Ringers, HORSEBACK‘s newest full-length album, is a lush, heady, and singular blend of organic and synthetic textures, the logical next step in Miller’s powerful identity and crushing, immaculate legacy. The new LP sees the experimental project continuing to evolve while staying true to its distinctive sound: written, produced, engineered, and mixed by mastermind Jenks Miller, Dead Ringers finds HORSEBACK weaving a bright web of drone, krautrock, shoegaze, metal and psychedelic elements, driven by wispy guitars, synths, beats, and clean vocals, and bolstered by dense layers of hypnotic resonance. The music is mesmeric and heavy yet light, taking influence from the doomiest grooves and the nuance of minimal electronic music, and is the most cohesive and well-defined representation of HORSEBACK‘s musical vision to date.

HORSEBACK Premiere ‘Dead Ringers’ Full Album Stream via Noisey
Dead Ringers, the critically-acclaimed new full-length from long-running NC experimental project HORSEBACK, has just premiered in full at music outlet Noisey ahead of its August 12 release via Relapse. Noisey commented,
“Drawing on the creative tone of both now-canonized post-punk classics and the deeper realm of experimentation that also surfaced at that time, all in reaction to punk’s own sonic ...

HORSEBACK Share Fourth Song “Modern Pull” + Interview at Invisible Oranges
Metal hub Invisible Oranges has premiered a fourth new song from Dead Ringers, the forthcoming full-length from North Carolina’s HORSEBACK, alongside an extensive interview with band mastermind Jenks Miller. In the interview, Miller elaborates “on the connection between the cover art and sound of Dead Ringers, the album’s electronic influences, how his various musical projects fit together, and ...

HORSEBACK Premiere 3rd Single “In Another Time, In and Out of Form” via Self-Titled Magazine
North Carolina drone/experimental project HORSEBACK have just shared a third new song, “In Another Time, In And Out of Form,” from the forthcoming album Dead Ringers, via Self-Titled Magazine. Self-Titled commented on the track,
“The ever-evolving world of Jenks Miller’s Horseback project takes another hard left turn on Dead Ringers, a swirly excursion into the void populated by psych, drone, shoegaze, and Krautrock. ...

HORSEBACK Share New Song “Lion Killer” via Decibel
Long-running NC experimental project HORSEBACK (helmed by Jenks Miller) have just shared a new song from their forthcoming full-length Dead Ringers (out this August 12) via Decibel Magazine! Band mastermind Jenks Miller commented on the song,
“The muse dictated a creepy, electronic sound palette this time around. Because recent Rose Cross records have been pursuing the pastoral psych-rock sound of Horseback’s 2014 ...